Wednesday's temperature ties record high for Hagerstown

If Wednesday's hot weather felt like a record-breaker, you were close.

The mercury topped out at 95.4 degrees Wednesday at 3:45 p.m., according to Hagerstown weather observer Greg Keefer's website at i4weather.net.

That tied a record high temperature of 95 degrees set in 2008 in Hagerstown, according to the website.

The heat is being caused by a high-pressure system sitting to the south of Hagerstown, said Carrie Suffern, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sterling, Va.

The system is causing a southwesterly flow of wind, Suffern said. When those winds pass over the Appalachian and Blue Ridge mountains, the air compresses as it flows into the lower altitudes, Suffern said.

And when air compresses, its temperature rises, she said.

A high temperature of 95 degrees is forecast for today but a low-pressure system is expected to slowly slip into the area, Suffern said. Not only are temperatures expected to drop, but the system could trigger rain over the weekend, she said.

Friday's high temperature is expected to be 89 degrees, with Saturday's high about 83 degrees and Sunday's high about 85 degrees, the weather service said.

Wednesday's near record heat follows last summer when Hagerstown had the hottest summer on record, with a three-month summer average temperature of 77.7 degrees.

That broke the record of 76 degrees set in 1995, according to the website.

Although the first day of summer is not until June 21, Keefer's based his three-month summer temperatures last year on the period from June 1 to Aug. 31.